Allahabad High Court refuses to stop ATS inquiry into funding of 4,000 madrassas in Uttar Pradesh

The Allahabad High Court has declined to interfere with an inquiry by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (UP-ATS) into the funding of more than 4,000 madrassas across the state, ruling that the probe is a fact-finding exercise and does not amount to coercive action.

A Division Bench of Justice Neeraj Tiwari and Justice Vivek Saran on July 1, 2026, dismissed a petition challenging a December 9, 2025 state government order that directed the ATS to conduct the inquiry.

The petitioners, representing some of the madrassas, argued that similar inquiries in the past had found no adverse material against them and that the fresh probe was intended only to harass the institutions. They sought the quashing of the government order.

Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General Manish Goel submitted that the inquiry was not limited to the petitioning institutions but covered over 4,000 madrassas across the state, based on inputs from various sources. He argued that the exercise was solely a fact-finding inquiry, involved no coercive measures, and that the institutions could submit their responses to authorities.

Accepting the state's submissions, the High Court observed that the mere conduct of an inquiry could not be treated as coercive action against the petitioners.

“Under such facts of the case, Court is of the firm view that conduct of inquiry cannot be said to be coercive action against the petitioners. Therefore, Court is not inclined to entertain this petition at this stage,” the Bench held.